Tag Archives: preschool

What would April be without a storytime about rain? Today my preschool storytime theme was “April Showers” and much like my snow-themed storytime, the weather cooperated! Below, find the books we read, the songs we sang and the cool craft we made.

SONG: If You’re Happy and You Know It
We sing the traditional song with an alternate last verse:
“If you’re ready for a story find your seat.
If you’re ready for a story find your seat.
Check your hands and check your feet,
If you’re ready find a seat.
If you’re ready for a story find your seat.”
(Thanks to Perpetual Preschool for the idea!)

BOOK: Raindrop, Plop! by Wendy Cheyette Lewison, illustrated by Pam Paparone
A rhyming, counting story that follows a little girl on her rainy day adventure until the sun shines again.

SONG: Itsy Bitsy Spider

BOOK: Rain by Manya Stojic
It is hot and dry on the African plain, but the animals can sense that the rain is coming. Porcupines, baboons, rhinos, zebras and the lion smell, see, hear, feel and taste the storm brewing overhead. I thought this book would sound awesome if I read it to the beat of a drum, slow and steady until the rain comes pouring down. Unfortunately, I don’t have 3 hands and can’t beat a drum, hold the book and turn the pages. We don’t have enough drums for each child so I gave them shaker eggs and showed the kids how to shake them to the rhythem. It ended up being a really cool way to experience the book!

FINGERPLAY:
One day the sun was shining bright (hold up right hand for the sun)
But some clouds came along and it became black as night (Hold up left hand for the clouds)
Then the rain began to sprinkle onto the ground (wiggle fingers for the rain coming down)
And soon it was raining all over the town.
But when the clouds had passed on by (move both hands to the right)
A big beautiful rainbow stretched across the sky. (have your left hand make a rainbow arc over your head)
(Perpetual Preschool)

BOOK: Soggy Saturday by Phyllis Root, illustrated by Helen Craig
When the rain washes all of the blue out of the sky and onto the animals on Bonnie Bumble’s farm, she gets to work with her paintbrush to set everything right again.

SONG: It’s Raining, It’s Pouring

ACTIVITY: I showed the children two different types of rainsticks. One was large and made of wood and the other was smaller and made out of plastic with beads inside. They each got a chance to hold the smaller one and flip it over to hear the rainy sound.

CRAFT: We made our own rainsticks! You will need the following supplies:

Paper towel tube

Uncooked beans, rice, or popcorn

Aluminum foil

Paper

Markers or crayons

Tape

Glue

Cover one end of the paper towel tube with a circle of paper. Roll aluminum foil into long roll and insert in tube. Add beans, rice or popcorn. Cover other end with another paper circle. Color on sheet of paper and tape or glue around tube. (Thanks to Sprout for the idea).

Other rainy day book options:Rain Dance by Kathi Appelt, illustrated by Emilie Chollat
Mr. Gumpy’s Motor Car by John BurninghamOne Rainy Day by Valeri GorbachevPuddles by Jonathan London, illustrated by G. Brian Karas

The stories are a little big longer than I would normally chose for a read-aloud with this age group (3-5), but the purpose is to prepare children to sit and listen for longer periods of time, a skill that will be required once they enter kindergarten.